My Favorite Cookbook

B. · May 16, 2010

There are so many "Gluten Free" cookbooks available today that offer gluten free versions of just about anything you might want to cook and eat..but most are just regurgitated standard recipes, who needs a gluten free version of something that is naturally gluten free anyway..it's a big waste of money. NOW, BAKING is a totally different story...this does require completely different recipes.To bake successfully without using Gluten laden flour requires tossing out a standard recipe almost completely and finding a mixture of several other ingredients to achieve the resulting effect of just the ONE missing component, not easily done for us standard cooks.Baking isn't like cooking...it requires more exacting measurements to produce an edible product. Yuck, have you ever baked a recipe and left out an ingredient by accident? Yup, forgetting that ONE little thing...gave rise to a hockey puck instead of a fluffy biscuit.After reading alot of the reviews about the recipes in the cookbook I am left to surmise that there are alot of people either not reading the recipes correctly or just not bothering to follow them at all....you WILL get a gummy product if you dump an entire packet of gelatin into ONE batch of bread, your yeast won't respond as well to liquid that isn't warm enough, and adding more of one ingredient when you run out of the one you need won't yield the same results. "rolls eyes"To blame the cookbook or author for one's own inability to put together a recipe is kind of lame...sounds more like a case of blatant stupidity if you ask me.I have all Ms. Hagman's books, as well as just about every other Gluten Free cookbook available(so, listen, I have a thing for cookbooks, get over it). Most of the other cookbook's have baking recipes that rely on a cheaper more granular rice flour, which gives your finished baked goods that "horrid fall apart-y commercially produced Gluten Free Bread quality" that sent us running for better home baked alternatives in the first place. What's the point of going through all that work for a poor quality bread? eh, might as well go without.Ms. Hagman has done the hardest part for us, she has already tested and refined these recipes over the years and was generous enough to share them with us, a little appreciation wouldn't be out of order people.I eat just as well on a Gluten Free diet as I did before I was diagnosed, with the help of cookbooks like this one of course and I would definately like to say adding this book has helped so much in my quest for good food. Sticking to a Gluten Free diet doesn't have to be like being slapped with a life sentance filled with tasteless low quality food "alternatives".Seriously, the SPRINGY CORN BREAD recipe changed my life. It is the most outstanding corn bread recipe, bar none, I have ever eaten.Grab this book.... and Get off your butt and BAKE something already!!

Awesome if you like "white bread" feel

M. · February 11, 2013

If fluffiness and lightness are your ultimate goals when baking bread, this is the book for you. The recipes are easy to follow for a novice bread maker. I have baked bread for years so I often go a little off the beaten path and have included some notes and recommendations below for you more adventurous types.Most of the recipes are set up like bread machine recipes and have 3 sizes. I don't own a machine anymore so I follow the hand baking instructions with no problem. A medium recipe will make a super high, super big 9x5 loaf. The large recipe make 2 smaller loaves. I find the smaller loaves to be easier to handle.If you haven't done much bread making before I would get an instant read thermometer for any hand baking because you want your liquids to be around 110 F and the bread is done when the inside of the loaf is about 205 F.If hand baking, be sure to score the bread lengthwise done the center right before putting it in the oven. This will help avoid huge air bubbles in the bread. I also brush the top of the loaf with oil (coconut, canola, or vegetable) before I let it rise so it does not stick to the plastic wrap I cover it with.ALSO, cover the bread with tin foil after about 10 minutes of baking so your loaf does not get too brown.I have started experimenting with subbing most of the "flours" (as opposed to the starch" ) in the mixes and recipes with whole grain flour like quinoa, millet, teff, buckwheat, brown rice, etc to get a little more nutrition and the results have been just as nice. I also add 1/4 cup of flax meal. (Slightly lower rise, but still incredible for GF bread.)For fun, I have used coconut flour and coconut oil for a tasty treat. Even added a handful of shredded coconut once. MMMM! Since coconut oil hardens around 78 degrees, I melt it in a cup of the warmed water.I have been using the sourdough starter with great results. I recommend leaving the lid off of the starter (as long as it is not fly season) when out of the fridge so that it can capture some of the wild yeasts in the air. This makes it more probiotic.I do NOT use butter milk powder, egg replacer, dry milk powder, rye flavor powder, etc. and have not missed them. I also do not use commercial dough enhancer which I found out is just Soy Lechitan, ground ginger, and vinegar granules. Instead I add 1 tsp of ginger and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar to the dough. Don't worry, the ginger flavor does not come through in the bread. Just make sure the batter is the right constancy.Happy Baking